Home of champion NH trainer Paul Nicholls
Words and pictures by Sara Waterson
IN THE YARD AND THE VILLAGE | THE DITCHEAT HORSES
Following our Sunday at Wincanton, with no jump racing scheduled on Monday, we begged a visit to the yard of Paul Nicholls at nearby Ditcheat. Paul is now firmly established as the reigning Champion National Hunt trainer, a position from which it will be difficult to dislodge him in the foreseeable future given the wealth of talent in his yard, and his supreme handling of his stable stars.
The yard has grown organically since Paul began to train here in 1991, with only eight horses. It’s now a powerhouse of top talents, in all departments.
Having formerly spent several years as a jump jockey, principally with David Baron, Paul then gained some experience as a Pupil Assistant following a bad kick which broke a leg and cut short his riding career. He responded to an advert placed by dairy farmer Paul Barber for a trainer to take on the 28 box Manor Farm yard at Ditcheat, which lies between the Somerset levels at the edge of rolling hills between Wincanton and Shepton Mallet. The partnership has flourished ever since, with the yard boasting over 1700 winners to date, many of them owned or part-owned by the landlord (including two of their three Gold Cup winners), Barber sensibly leaving the trainer a free hand to run his own operation.
The Manor Farm main yard is now at its 82 horse capacity, with every patch of its extent covered by stalls either in the central barn (once occupied by dairy cattle) or in clusters of boxes which climb up and down its sloping non-slip walkways, the whole knitted to together aesthetically with spanking clean black and white paintwork. The yard looked a picture in the late October sunshine, with each horse able to see a good number of its fellows and to follow the busy yard routine. Consequently each horse seems supremely happy and relaxed, and pleased to greet visitors, as well as giving of its best on the course. No wonder there is a ‘waiting list’!
There is a 43 box satellite yard at Highbridge just outside the village, home to new arrivals and to the younger horses, since the schooling fences and hurdles are there. The trainer also has at his disposal over 100 acres of Barber family turnout paddocks, where the horses enjoy their summer break, and a few old warriors live out their days in peace, including Paul’s first Gold Cup winner, See More Business, and Cenkos, one of many owned down the years by the Stewart Family who still have ten or more in training.
The yard also oversees the careers of the Point to Pointers at either end of their career, at the Dorsetshire yard owned by Richard Barber, brother of Paul. The two Pauls believe in the Irish method of giving young horses experience in this less demanding discipline before they start their career under Rules, as well as extending their careers in Hunter Chases in their veteran years. The yard’s most popular horses in this sphere must be the now retired Earthmover and Royal Auclair. Thisthatandtother also retired there as a ‘schoolmaster’, teaching the youngsters by example how to be chasers – and teenagers how to be jockeys! With Paul Barber’s children too helping with pre-training and rehabilitation, it’s very much both a family and team effort.
No visit to Ditcheat would be complete without time spent in the Manor House Inn, the hub of the village and a proper ‘racing pub’ where everyone connected with the yard feels right at home, from the lads and lasses to the two Pauls themselves. It was notable that Nicholls came in after racing at Wincanton, though it was a Sunday, to have a drink with his staff; and Barber had already paid two visits to the pub on Monday before 1pm! The welcome from Simon and Kinga is warm, food is good, the rooms comfortable and not expensive, the decent wine and real ale are much appreciated. It’s a friendly pub and the craic is excellent – especially if you love racing – and most mornings from autumn to spring it’s possible to sit outside and see if you can spot the yard’s famous inmates trotting past, to harden their legs with a bit of roadwork round the picturesque village and its idyllic environs. In bad weather, even the delightful mainly C15th church, dominating the village between the pub and Barber’s ancient Manor, is well worth a visit.
Lucky horses, and lucky people, to share such a paradise! It was hard to leave.
Paul Nicholls will be hosting a book signing at the Manor House Inn on Weds 5th December from 12 noon til 4pm – I suspect that will be quite a party, providing a fun opportunity to buy those extra Xmas gifts for your racing friends. The yard even boasts a stable artist, Martin Alford, who will also be displaying and selling his work that day, and it has its own souvenir shop online.
www.connaught.plc.uk/ are the yard Sponsors
